If you are making an estate plan, you may want to use a power of attorney. There are two main types to consider. The first is a financial power of attorney, which allows an agent to do things like accessing bank accounts, transferring real estate or paying taxes. The second is a medical power of attorney, which allows the agent to make medical decisions on your behalf.
But why would you give up the right to make your own medical decisions? What are the benefits of using this document in your estate plan?
The risk of incapacitation
First and foremost, you do not have to worry about giving up your rights immediately if you draft a medical power of attorney. You can still make all of your own medical decisions, even if you have this document on file.
Typically, this type of power of attorney will have a specific trigger, and it usually revolves around incapacitation. If something happens – you have a stroke, you get injured in a car accident, you suffer a serious head injury in a fall at work, etc. – and you are incapacitated, then your agent can take over and make medical decisions until you recover.
There are other ways to address this, such as listing instructions in a living will. But one of the benefits of a power of attorney is that your agent can talk to the doctors and decide exactly what decisions to make at that moment rather than reviewing a list of instructions you created beforehand.
Making your estate plan
If you are interested in using a power of attorney in your estate plan, be sure you know exactly what legal steps you’ll need to take.
